Get Your Mulch On
As the season moves forward, the growing cycle slowly starts to reset and everything that was once green now shrivels away. This is the perfect opportunity to prepare your grow areas for the next season. Mulching is a way to preserve your soil during the harsh winter ahead. Mulch also adds nutrients to the soil so choosing the right mulch is essential. Top choices would be manure, tree bark or grass clippings. Think of it as dressing your grow area in a newly knitted jersey of some sort. Make sure you remove all weeds and other no no's from the prospective mulching spots and dress in a thick layer of preferred mulch.Upcycle, Upcycle, Upcycle
As the leaves turn from green to auburn to brown don't just rake them all up and toss them into the bin. Start a compost heap. This goes for all yard clippings as well. Empty the cut grass from your lawn mower's bin straight into your designated compost spot. Reclamation is priority number two when it comes to gardening. The idea is to lower our carbon footprint; not add to it.Maintain Your Tools
Just because we grow a tad slower during colder days should not be an excuse to stop doing what we love. Plug in that grinder, grab your shovel and sharpen the bevel on your spade and shovel. Another top trick would be to remove all gunk and soil build up on the prongs of your garden forks. This makes a huge difference when spring shows itself in September.Fruit Tree Time
Autumn is the best time to plant fruit trees. And with the massive drought we went through, fruit will become even more expensive the further we drift into the year. Dig a hole one and half shovels deep, mix in some compost, soil and bonemeal into the hole and plant a fruit tree. Just last week we planted two pomegranate trees and one fig tree. It's a lot easier and way cheaper than one would think. Just make sure you mulch the soil around the tree very well.Relocate Your Herbs
Carefully dig up and replant your basil, thyme, rosemary and so forth into small containers. These will adapt very well to in-house growing situations. Just make sure you place them on windowsills that receive ample light. There's no stopping your home made cooking now.Bulb Up During Cold Times
Bulbous plants can grow through cold times. Plant a couple of onions, leafy beets and potatoes in heavy manured areas. This trick is awesome because it allows you to add some cool ingredients to your veggie soups and stews.Landscape Now!
When your garden's turned in for the winter it'll give you time to give that landscaper a call and revitalise your grow space completely. Why not add that koi pond or lay the paving for that garden path of yours? Let your imagination run wild.Baby Greenhouse Building
Why not build a baby greenhouse? It's very simple and quite rewarding. Build it knee height - that should do it - and get a super leap on the growing season. Pop down to your local hardware and purchase PVC piping and piping joints and design and use this as your frame for the greenhouse. Grab some plastic wrap - the kind you used to cover your school books with - and staple that as cover to your frame. It's fairly simple and light weight. You can build this as small or as large to suit your specific growing needs.
